The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

Ukrainian electronic rail tickets incompatible with travel

Maxim Shcherbatyuk, UHHRU lawyer, relates his travel (or otherwise) experiences following the statements Ukrzaliznytsya [Ukrainian Railways] made throughout the country on 10 February. The public were told of unheard of progress in electronic ticket sales, with these making up 1% of all tickets sold at the present time. Maxim decided to try this wonderfully convenient method out.

His train was close to midnight, so he fortunately arrived at the station a bit early. Which he had cause to be thankful for.

All the special desks where they print out these electronic tickets proved to have closed at 20.00. He found out at information that a normal desk would print the ticket, however there wasn’t one that didn’t have a queue of at least 10 people.

A total disaster for those arriving minutes before the train is to leave, but Maxim had some time and decided to stick out the queue. At least he first went up and asked if he could get the ticket printed without standing in the queue but did not get an answer.

Nor, however, was he told that he needed to go to the opposite end of the station to the ticket desk administrator. That he found out only after 30 minutes in the queue.

Maxim’s difficulties continued for some hour and a half, until he finally managed to get the ticket.

He used the remaining 12 minutes before his train left to express – no difficulty imagining what – in the book of complaints, which proved the only thing easily available in the capital’s central railway station.

He holds little hope that electronic tickets will take off in Ukraine until Ukrzaliznytsya can develop a different attitude to its customers.